The past few years have seen the birth and rise of fan-made documentaries about iconic horror films, docs like Never Sleep Again, Crystal Lake Memories and More Brains: A Return to the Living Dead digging a whole lot deeper into our favorite movies than your typical DVD bonus features ever possibly could. It’s a trend that is showing no signs of slowing, and today we shine the spotlight on five such upcoming documentaries that all of us horror fans should be very excited about!

Canada-based filmmaker Steve Villeneuve directs Hail to the Deadites, which failed to reach its $30,000 IndieGoGo fundraising goal at the tail end of last year, but nevertheless promises to return from the dead and find its way into our lives. Rather than focusing on the making of the Evil Dead films, this documentary is instead all about the die-hard fans of the franchise, who live and breathe all things groovy. Why do we all love these movies so much, and what do the collections of the most hardcore Deadites look like? That’s what this documentary is all about, and franchise stars Danny Hicks, Patricia Tallman and Timothy Quill are all on board for interviews.

Learn all about Hail to the Deadites over on the Facebook fan page for the doc, where you’ll also find clips and teaser trailers.

While Hail to the Deadites focuses on the fans of the Evil Dead films, Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist is all about Tom Sullivan, the special effects makeup artist and prop designer for Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Sullivan’s contributions to the series cannot be overstated, and superfan Ryan Meade is looking to finally shine the spotlight on the man who has never quite gotten the credit he deserves. The documentary will feature interviews with Sullivan and other cast and crew members, giving us insight into an incredibly important aspect of the trilogy we all love so dearly.

Invaluable is currently being screened for distribution, and Meade hopes to have it shown at conventions sometime this year, with a release on DVD in the near future. Keep up to date with all things Invaluableover on Facebook.

Hellraiser gets the documentary treatment with Leviathan, which covers both the original film and the 1988 sequel. Directed by K. John McDonagh, the feature-length doc will tell the story behind the creation of the first two films in the franchise, a portrait that will be painted through interviews with various members of their casts and crews. “We aim to show fans and those less familiar with the films both the technical skills, the creative idea, the symbolism and the legacy of these movies,” reads the synopsis on Leviathan‘s Facebook page.

Though no exact date has been set, Leviathan is looking to emerge from Hell sometime this year, and you can learn a whole lot more about it over on the official website.

A whole lot has been written and said about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre since its release in 1974, with several books, documentaries and home video re-releases pretty much covering every aspect of the film’s creation. At the tail end of last year we learned that star Marilyn Burns (Sally Hardesty) was working on a documentary of her own, a partnership with filmmaker Joshua Allan Vargas that will set itself apart from all the others by being a feature film docudrama, rather than a talking heads documentary. Titled The Summer of Saw, the film will tell the behind the scenes stories of the making of the film in a way that we’ve never seen them told before, with re-enactments bringing Burns’ memories of the traumatic experience to life.

The Summer of Saw is currently in pre-production, and the Texas shoot is expected to begin this coming August.

Unlike Chainsaw, very little has been said about the making of Pet Sematary over the years, with home video special features offering little insight into the film’s creation. Enter fans John Campopiano and Justin White, whose independent documentary Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary aims to change that.

The young filmmakers have spent the last couple years filming interviews, uncovering information and digging up never-before-seen photographs and video footage, which they’re currently working on putting together to form the ultimate retrospective of the film. The documentary will cover the behind the scenes making of the movie and its lasting impact, interviews with cast, crew and even Maine locals who helped out on the production offering up unprecedented access to the set. How extensive is it, you ask? Well, let’s just say John and Justin even interviewed the owners of the many cats who portrayed Church in the movie!

Unearthed & Untold is headed our way very soon, and you can keep tabs on it over on the Facebook page.

Which of these documentaries are you most looking forward to? And can you think of any others that we should all be excited about? Comment below and let us know!

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